The Way Things Are
by Jupiter
Summary: The story of how love conquers all


The Way Things Are

The Way Things Are

_ _

_Don't you ever wish you could trade lives with someone? Just change the way things are. Be someone else. Not have to be you. Yeah, I do wish that-all the time. I wish to be my friends, people I see on TV. Or someone I don't even know. But I can't….so why waste my time?_ Lita thought to herself. All of a sudden Serena started cracking up and popcorn went flying out of her mouth. Lita remembered where she was. She was at Mina's house with the rest of the girls, Mina, Serena, Raye and Amy. They were watching a movie, but Lita wasn't interested. "Serena, you eat like a pig! Clean up that mess right now!" Raye shouted at Serena. "It's okay, Raye," Mina replied, "I'll clean it later, this is a sleep over! We're supposed to have fun and make a mess,". "Yeah, Raye, so quit being such a fungus!" Serena shouted. Serena and Raye started their "long tongue contest" as usual, as Amy tried to stop them and Mina sat there laughing. Lita wanted to laugh, or help, or move…but her brain wasn't registering the movements into her body.

After the fight settled down, and the movie stopped the girls all lied down on their sleeping bags and started talking. "Darien's the best! I love him so much! I love him, I love him, I love him!" Serena gloated. "Stop being such a brag, Serena!" Mina said. "Yeah, we're gonna get boyfriends too! Once summer comes we'll all have boys worshipping us like the goddesses we are," Raye said, stars in her eyes. "You guys worry too much about boyfriends. You should worry more about school, we're going to be seniors in high school next year, and that means that college is right around the corner!" Amy said, looking very worried. "Oh, Amy, we'll all get into college, don't worry!" said Mina, patting Amy on the back. Serena looked over at Lita, and noticed that she was staring off into space. 

"Hello?! Earth to Lita!" Serena said, waving her hand in front of Lita's face. Lita shook her head. "You okay, Lita?" Raye asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," Lita lied, she wasn't fine, but she wasn't sure what was bothering her. The girls talked some more, about boys and clothes and movies and music, typical sleep over stuff. At about 2 Amy fell asleep. A little while after that, Mina and Raye dosed off. Lita thought everyone was asleep, so she wrapped a blanket around herself and walked out to Mina's balcony. Serena crept quietly behind her. Images flashed in Lita's head of this morning. She went to Ken's house to surprise him with breakfast. There was no answer when she knocked, so she just walked in. Inside she saw Ken sitting on his couch…..having a full on game of tonsil hockey with some blonde from Lita's chemistry class. Lita dropped the card she was going to give Ken and broke out in tears. She ran out of there as soon as she could. Remembering it made the hot tears stream down her face again.

"Lita, what's wrong?" Serena asked. Lita jumped a bit, surprised that Serena was there. "Nothing, I'm fine," she said, wiping her tears. "No you're not," Serena said, walking in front of Lita, "Come on, Lita, you can tell me, you can tell me anything," Serena said, in a comforting voice. Lita sighed, she had to tell someone, she couldn't keep it bottled up, and Serena _was _her best friend. Lita explained the whole story, bursting out in tears when she got to the cheating part. Serena hugged her. "Oh Lita, that jerk! I'll go Moonie on his butt!" Serena said. Lita laughed a bit. "I hate him…I hate him so much!" Lita said. "I've got an idea….I think Ken deserves a 3 a.m wake up call, don't you agree?" Serena said with a devilish grin.

The girls walked inside and picked up the phone. Lita dialed Ken's number. After 3 or 4 rings Ken picked up. "H….h…hello?" Ken said, sleepily. "Hey Ken, it's Lita. Guess what? Now you can kiss your other girlfriend whenever you want, cause we're through! That's right Ken, I'm dumping you! I hate you! And I can't believe I ever loved you! You're scum, no, you're worse than scum! You're the little particle that scum eat! You're a stupid jerk and you suck!" Lita hung up. Serena looked shocked. "That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Serena asked. "Harsh? That loser cheated on me!" Lita said. Serena smiled. "You're right," Serena said, giving Lita a high-five. After about an hour of talking, Serena and Lita went to sleep.

Ken lied in his bed, unable to sleep. "Oh man, oh man, ohhhh man! What am I gonna do? I could say I was rehearsing for a play….but Lita knows that I hate acting. Oh man, I screwed up majorly. I love Lita, she's the only girl I've ever loved. We're destined to be together. So why did I kiss Amanda? I could say that Amanda kissed me. But I can't lie to Lita, I invited Amanda to my house for one soul purpose. I wanted to kiss her, I wanted her to fall for me. Why? So I could break her heart when I told her that I loved only Lita? No, of course not, I wouldn't hurt Amanda like that. Oh, so I'd hurt Lita? What is my problem? I honestly don't know why I wanted Amanda to fall for me…..just a guy thing I guess. Well, I'm gonna have to think of something and quick, I can't let her get away…"

At about noon Mina and Amy woke up. They stretched and talked for about 15 minutes, then Raye woke up. "Hey guys," Raye said. "Hey Raye," Amy and Mina said, in unison. Raye grabbed a pillow and hit Serena on the head. Serena started snoring even louder. Lita slowly woke up. "What's that noise?" she asked. "Just Serena snoring," Amy said. Lita shook Serena. "Wake up! Wake up, Serena!" Lita yelled. Serena kept sleeping. "Hey Serena, Darien's moving to Germany!" Raye shouted right in Serena's ear. "WHAT?!??!!" Serena yelled, waking up. "No! I gotta stop him!". The other 4 started laughing. "Serena, he's not really moving, we were just trying to wake you up," Mina reassured her. "That wasn't friendly!" Serena said.

"You guys wanna head down to the beach. We can eat there, and check out guys," Mina said, winking and making a peace sign with her right hand. "Yeah!" Serena, Raye, Lita and Amy said. They all looked at Amy. She blushed. "Um….just so I can eat and swim, I'm not interested in the guys!" Amy said, blushing even more. "Sure you're not, Amy," Raye said sarcastically. Serena stood up. "I'm gonna go get my swim suit on, Lita, help me pick out one, I brought 3!" Serena said, a big sweat drop appearing on her forehead. Serena and Lita went into Mina's room. Serena pulled 3 swim suits out of her bag. She held up the first one. "Lita, this is great, you might meet a guy you really like and forget all about Ken," She held up the second one. "Yeah, that'd be cool," Lita said. Serena held up the last one. "I like the second one," Lita said. "Okay," Serena replied.

Lita grabbed her swim suit and went into Mina's bathroom to change. Serena walked into the living room, where the other girls were, and explained the Ken story. "Oh my, poor Lita," Amy said. "Yeah, so lets try to get her another guy, Ken doesn't deserve her," Mina said. "Okay!" the other 3 said, as if they were about to battle an enemy.Lita came out in her swimsuit, with a towel wrapped around her waist. She had her hair in a ponytail as usual and was holding a bag over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go get changed," Raye said, she went into Mina's room and changed into her swim suit, she came back out and Amy went in. After Amy came out Mina went in. Serena went into the bathroom and changed. Soon they were all ready to go.

They walked down to Mina's '99 yellow Mustang convertible.Mina sat in the drivers seat, Lita sat in the passengers seat and the other 3 sat in back. Mina let the top down and turned on the radio. "I love this song!" Lita shouted, as they started driving, the wind in their hair. Lita started singing along. "Jimmy's got a girlfriend! We all know where he's been! Huggin' and a kissin'! Oh Jimmy's got a girlfriend!". Mina quickly changed the station. "Yuck! I HATE country music!" Mina said. Mina parked in the beach parking lot and put the top down. The girls got out and headed down to the beach.

Once at the beach the girls lied their towels down on the sand, and lied down on them. Mina heard some music so she looked to see where it was coming from. The music came from some guys playing volleyball. "Hey, those guys are playing volleyball, wanna see if we can join them?" Mina asked. The girls nodded and they walked to the volleyball net. "Hey, mind if we join?" Raye asked, twirling her hair around her finger, obviously trying to flirt with one of the guys. "Sure, you guys can play," the guy said with a smile. Raye felt weak in the knees. _Man, this guy is a hunk!_ she thought.

They split the teams up evenly. Serena, Lita, and Mina were on one side with 3 of the guys, while Amy and Raye were on the other side with 4 of the guys. One guy served, Lita bumped it over and Amy was about to hit it, but the sun got in her eyes and she got hit."Sorry, Aims!" Lita said. Serena and Mina started cracking up. "I wouldn't be laughing, Serena, Amy was just doing an impression of you!" Raye said. "Hey!" Serena said back, defensively. After a bit of the game they decided to stop playing. Lita turned up the music and started dancing. "I got fries to go with that shake!" Lita chanted. Serena was glad that Lita was having a good time, considering her boyfriend, who she was destined to marry, just cheated on her. Serena's stomach growled. "I'm hungry, who's up for a food break?" Serena said. "I could use some food," Mina said.

The girls went over to a little food shack. One guy came with them. The girls got their food and sat down. "So, what's your name?" Mina asked the guy. "I'm Ben," he said. "Well, I'm Mina, that's Serena, that's Amy, that's Raye and that's Lita," Mina said, pointing to each girl as she said their name. "Hi," Ben said. "Hi," the girls said back. Serena started eating like usual. Amy tried to slow Serena down and ended up getting french fries all over her face. They all started talking. Ben wasn't listening, he was staring at Lita. _She's a goddess_ he thought _and I feel like I've met her before, weird…._ Lita looked over to Ben and he quickly looked away, blushing. _Maybe Serena was right, I haven't thought about Ken at all, and this guy looks nice, and I feel like I know him. _

After they were done eating they went back down to the beach. Ben started talking to Lita. "Hey, Lita, whatsup?" Ben asked. _Oh yeah, that was original_ he thought sarcastically to himself. "Not much," she replied. "Um…do you have a boyfriend?" Ben asked. Lita sighed. "No…not anymore…I broke up with him at 3 this morning,I caught him cheating on me," she said. "That jerk, well I bet he took you for granted anyways, he doesn't deserve a beautiful girl like you," Ben said. Lita blushed. _Raye was right too, this guy does worship me like the goddess I am! _She thought. Lita and Ben continued talking about all sorts of things. They could really open up to each other. They sat down on a couple of towels while everyone else had water fights, listened to music, and had karaoke contests. Usually Lita would be the life of all three of those events, but right now all she wanted to do was talk to Ben.

It was about 6 pm and the girls decided to go home. Lita gave Ben her number before they left. The girls all got into Mina's car and started driving to her house. "Looks like somebody's got a crush," Raye said. Lita blushed. "Ben is so great! He's cute and smart and funny and nice! He's just so awesome!" Lita said. They got to Mina's house and the girls all got their stuff and said their goodbyes. "See you guys at school on Monday," Lita said. She got into her old Volkswagon Beetle, which she got customed painted green and pink, which also had a convertible top. As she was driving home all she could think about was Ben and how wonderful and perfect he was.

Lita parked and started walking to her apartment. Outside she saw her friend Monica, who lived in the apartment next to hers, staring up at the roof. Lita looked up to see Ken singing I Thought She Knew by *N Sync. "Public humiliation is a form of true love, Lita," Monica said, swaying back and forth to Ken's horrible voice. "What happened between you two?" Monica asked. "He cheated on me," Lita said loudly with anger in her voice, making sure that Ken heard her. Monica looked shocked. "Ken, go home! I hate you and I don't want you here!" Lita ran inside her apartment and locked the door behind her.

After she settled down she turned on her Josie and the Pussycats CD while cleaning her apartment. Cleaning always helped her calm down, and it was something to do while waiting for Ben to call. Lita sang along to her CD. "I wish you well, I wish you love, I wish myself, all of the above," she sang. Ken was on her balcony, looking in the window. "My beautiful goddess, with the voice of an angel, I wish I could take back what I did….I wish I could be somebody else to comfort you…" he said. He climbed down the safety ladder and got into his Jeep that his mom and dad bought him for Christmas a few years back. He drove home, crying, thinking of his love for Lita.

Lita finished cleaning her entire apartment, so she decided to rest for a while. She lied on her couch, wiggling her feet to the music. After 2 songs the phone finally rang. She picked it up anxiously. "Hello?" she asked into the receiver. "Hey, it's Ben," Ben said from the other line. Lita smiled to herself. "Hey Ben, whatsup?" she asked, leaning over the couch to turn off her CD player. "Not much, sorry I didn't call earlier but I forgot that I was meeting some friends, and I just got home," Ben said, sounding like he was afraid that Lita would never forgive him. "It's okay, Ben, I've been cleaning anyway," she said back. They talked for hours and hours, and finally at about 3 in the morning they said goodbye. Lita got ready for bed and fell asleep, dreaming about Ben.

Ken was driving home, still totally bummed about Lita. He ran a red light and hit an old guy in a BMW. "Stupid kid! You had a red light! You're going to hear from my lawyer about this!" The old man said. "Sorry," Ken said. He didn't mean it though. It wasn't his fault. Actually, it was. He cheated on Lita. "I guess this is what I get for being so stupid," he said, pounding on the steering wheel. Ken wrote his phone number and license plate number on a piece of paper and handed it to the old guy. "Call me tomorrow and we'll handle it then, it's late and I gotta get home," Ken said. "Alright," the old guy said back, "but you should be glad that I can still drive with this damage!". Ken drove home and lied in his bed thinking about his life.

"Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight-Good Morning!-Never running from a real fight, she is the one nam" Lita pushed the button on her Sailor Moon alarm clock to turn it off. She thought it was so cool that people actually made merchandise about her and her friends. She got out of bed and took a shower.The phone rang while she was in the shower, so she didn't hear it. _Come on, Lita, pick up!_ Ken thought on the other line. He hung up. "She'll never speak to me ever again!" Ken thought.

Lita got out of the shower and got dressed. Today she was gonna go shopping for some new shoes. She grabbed her purse, which of course had her crystal wand in it, and walked out. She decided to walk, since a Payless store was only a few blocks away. On the way there she saw a monster sucking energy out of a teenage girl. She pulled out her wand. "Jupiter Crystal Power Make Up!" she shouted. Instantly she transformed into Super Sailor Jupiter. "Hold it right there!" she shouted. "I am the sailor suited guardian of Jupiter. And on behalf of Jupiter I will punish you!" she yelled. _Eh…so I ripped off Sailor Moon's speech a little, big deal_ she thought. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" she yelled. The attack hit the monster and it disappeared. She made sure the girl was alright then ran behind a tree and de-transformed.

Serena was walking down to the arcade. She looked across the street and saw Ken. "Gross, gross, eternally gross!" she said. She hid behind a bush. Ken saw her and walked over to her. _No, no, no! Don't come over here!_ She thought. "Hey, Serena," Ken said, "What are you doing down there?". "Um…uh…I…um…I dropped my brooch!" she said, smiling and stood up. "Serena, I know what I did was completely wrong and totally stupid, but do you think I have a chance with Lita?" he asked, sadness in his eyes. "Well….um…," she said, sweat trickling down her forehead, "I'm not sure,". Ken sighed. "I'd do anything to take back what I did," he said. "Um, Ken, why _did _you kiss that blonde girl anyway?" Serena asked. "I don't know, I was just messing around and being stupid, I really don't know why I did it. I love Lita with all of my heart and I'd never ever want to hurt her," he said back, blinking away tears.

Right then Lita walked in front of the arcade. "Hey Lita!" Serena yelled, then she hit her head. Ken didn't see Lita, and he wouldn't have seen her if Serena hadn't have opened her big mouth. "Oh, hi Serena," Lita said, walking up to Serena. She didn't recognize Ken, since she only saw the back of his head. When she got up to Serena she saw that it was Ken. _Oh, great_ she thought. "Lita, I'm so glad to see you," Ken said, a smile grazing upon his lips. "Well, that's not a mutual feeling," she said, giving the coldest voice she could. Ken's smile quickly disappeared. His eyes were red and puffy, and Lita could tell he was very upset. _That's what you get for cheating_ she thought.

"Well, I better get going, I've got shopping to do," Lita said. "See you in school tomorrow, Serena," Lita said with a smile. "Bye, Lita," Serena said. Then she looked back to Ken, who was on the verge of tears. "Well, I better get going, Serena, thanks for your help, see you at the scout meeting tomorrow," Ken said, running off. Serena sighed. _I know that what Ken did is wrong, but he's been through enough, Lita should forgive him. They are destined to be together and all. Oh no! What if he sees Lita with Ben? That will be a total disaster!_ Serena thought. She shrugged her shoulders and headed into the arcade. Maybe Andrew could give her some advice.

"Hey, Serena, want to play the new Sailor V game? Just arrived this morning," Andrew said. "Nah…too much on my mind," Serena said back. Andrew looked shocked. "What? Serena doesn't want to play the new Sailor V game? Man, there must be something major going on," Andrew said. "There is," Serena said. She explained how Ken cheated on Lita and how Lita met Ben. "And now she's stone cold to Ken, just like a rock," Serena said. "Well, me and Darien could talk to Ken, and you and the girls could talk to Lita, I just can't imagine a world where Ken and Lita are apart," Andrew said. "Yeah, thanks Andrew," she said back. "So, where's the new Sailor V game?" she asked with a wide grin. Andrew laughed. "Right this way," he said, leading her to the game.

Ken walked inside his house to see his mother with a very angry expression on her face. "Ken Richard West! Did you hit a man's BMW at 3 in the morning?!" she asked angrily. "Mom, I'm so, so, so sorry, with this whole Lita thing going on I can't concentrate on anything. I was so upset last night that I ran a red light and I accidentally hit the guy, you can take the repair money out of my bank account, it's okay, it was all my fault," Ken said, in an extremely sad tone of voice. "Oh…Ken, I wouldn't take the money out of your account. How about this, I'll just take your allowance until the damage bill is paid off. Now, sit down, I just made some cookies and green tea, have some. Do you want to talk about Lita?" his mother asked, sympathetically. Ken sighed. "Okay," he said, he explained the whole story to her and how he felt. She hugged him and told him that everything would be all right. He wanted to believe her, but he knew that nothing would ever be right ever again.

Lita walked into the Payless store and went to the size 7 isle. She pulled out a comfy-looking pair of sneakers. She turned to her left and saw Ben. "Ben!" she shouted to him, anxiously. Ben smiled and walked over to her. "I'm so glad to see you," Ben said. "Me, too," Lita said back. "There's something I want to ask you, Lita." Ben said. "Yes?" she replied. "Would you be my girlfriend?" he asked. Butterflies grew in Lita's stomach and goose bumps appeared all over her arms and legs. "Yes!" she shouted with excitement. Ben leaned down a bit, since Lita was so tall he was only about an inch taller than her, Lita leaned up and their lips met. Lita had the most wonderful sensation running through her veins. She knew that he would never hurt her the way that Ken did.

"Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight –Good Morning!-never running from a re" Lita pushed the button on her Sailor Moon alarm clock. It was Monday morning, and it was probably the only Monday morning that Lita woke up happy. _Ben is my boyfriend!_ She thought to herself with a smile. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. After the shower she changed into her school clothes: her dark blue skirt and white shirt with the dark blue bow. She put her hair in a ponytail and grabbed her school case. She walked out and locked the door behind her. "Hey Monica," she said, as she passed Monica in the hallway. "Hey Lita, did you know that Ken was here last night?" Monica asked.

"He was?" Lita asked back. "Yeah, I think he was trying to throw rocks at your window, he accidentally hit my window, though," Monica said. "Well, that's Ken, the stupid rock," Lita said with a light laugh. "Well, I better get going, don't want to be late," Lita said. "Okay, bye," Monica said back. "Bye," Lita replied. Lita walked down to her car and opened it up. She sat down and drove to school. At school she parked her car and got out. "Hey guys," she said, walking up to Mina and Amy. "Hi Lita!," Mina said. "Hey J-babe," Mina said. "Guess what? Ben asked me out!" Lita said. Just then Ken walked by them. Hearing those words made his insides cringe. _Ben…..asked her out? Who does this guy think he is?!? Lita's mine! We're destined to be together!_ Ken thought. Ken ran as fast as he could. 

The bell rang and everyone got into their classrooms. Ken stood in the hallway, banging his head against a locker. Serena ran by him. "Oh no! I'm late! Mr. Tasami is gonna give me detention again!" she said, running into a classroom. "I can't take it anymore! I need Lita! She keeps me alive! I can't live with out her!" Ken said, punching the locker.

"I can't be here," Ken said. He ran out of the school building. He decided to go to the park, he always went there to think. "I can't live anymore! My life is worthless without Lita!" Ken screamed. He transformed into Jupiter Knight and grabbed his sword. "Goodbye, Earth, I'll always love you Lita," he took of his armor and closed his eyes. Just then Amara and Michelle walked up to him. "Ken! Stop!" Michelle said, grabbing the sword. "Michelle, let go! Lita left me! I don't want to live without her! I CAN'T live without her!" he screamed, jerking the sword out of her hand. "Sorry to have to do this, Ken," Amara said. She karate-chopped his neck, making him go unconscious. He fell to the ground.

When Ken woke up he was lying on a bed with a cold towel on his head. He wasn't Jupiter Knight anymore, just Ken. He looked to the bed stand on his right and saw a picture of Michelle. _Must be Amara's place_ he thought. He sat up, holding his head. It hurt a lot. The last thing he remembered was grabbing the sword out of Michelle's hand, everything after that was hazy. Michelle walked in. "Hello, sleepy head," she said. "You've been out for a few hours,".Amara leaned against the door. "Want to explain about Lita, now?" she asked. Ken sighed and explained the whole story to Amara and Michelle, not forgetting to mention the new information about this Ben guy.

"You were kissing another girl? Well what do you expect? Do you think she'd just come back to you like a puppy? Lita's better than that," Amara said, angrily. "Yes, it was wrong to do, but Amara, don't you think that Lita going out with another boy is a step too far? Ken and Lita are destined to be together," Michelle stated back. Amara shrugged. "Maybe," she mumbled, looking away. Ken looked at the clock on the wall. _Three o'clock_ he thought. "I need to get to the scout meeting now, thank you for your hospitality," Ken said, standing up and bowing. "You're very welcome," Michelle said.

Ken walked out and headed towards the temple. There he saw Raye, Amy, Mina, Serena, Darien and Lita. "There he is," Darien said. Ken looked around the group. Everyone had sympathy in their eyes except for Lita. "Anyone have any business to discus?" Amy asked. "I fought a monster yesterday," Lita said. "He looked new, not like any of the other monsters we've fought. It looked like the simple stealing energy case from afar, but when I got closer it looked like he was stealing the girls soul," Lita said, with worry and anger in her voice.

There were some sighs out of the group. "Well, don't worry, we'll get behind this evil and kick it's butt!" Mina said. Darien laughed. "There will probably be more, so be on guard at all times," Raye said. "Okay," said the rest of the group in unison. "I guess that's it," Serena said. "See you guys tomorrow," Amy said. They all started heading home. Ken chased after Lita. "Lita! Stop!" Ken said. "Ken, I have a date, and I don't want to be late!" Lita replied angrily. "Lita! How can you do this? We're destined to be together!" Ken asked, his eyes tearing up.

"Ken, I can't live by destiny. I can't make all my decisions because I know that's the way they're supposed to be made. And I don't want to be with you! Ken, I've moved on, and you should too! Now I really have to be going," Lita said, and started walking off. Ken fell on his knees and start pounding on the ground. "No! No! I don't believe it! There's no way that this is happening! Can't she see how upset I am?! Why won't she come back to me!" Ken screamed. He slowly got up and started walking home. He crossed the street, hoping to get hit by a car, but there were no cars in sight. He made it home and flopped down on his bed. He didn't fall asleep, he just lied there, being miserable.

Lita showed up at the movie theatre and looked at her watch. She looked around and finally saw Ben. A smile took over her face. "Ben!" she said, waving. "Hey, Lita," Ben said, hugging her. He opened the door. "After you," he said, Lita walked in and Ben followed. Ben bought two tickets to the movie and gave one to Lita. He bought a large soda and they went into the theatre. They sat down next to each other and started watching the movie. Ben was more interested in watching Lita than the movie, though. _She's so amazing, I can't believe what a goddess she is!_ Ben thought. _He's perfect, absolutely perfect! Oh, you're so perfect, Ken. KEN?! What am I thinking?! I hate Ken! Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben! Ben is perfect, NOT Ken!_ She thought. 

"I'll be right back," she said quietly to Ben. Lita walked to the bathroom and look into the mirror. "What do I do? Do I still love Ken?" she said. Sailor Pluto appeared. "Pluto!" Lita said. "Hello, Lita, I see that you're confused about Ken," Sailor Pluto said. "Yes, I don't know if I still love him or not, and I don't think I could ever go back to him after what he did to me," Lita said, her eyes tearing at the thought of Ken kissing Amanda. "You've got to look into your heart and decide who you want to be with," Sailor Pluto said. "I must go now, Lita," she said, fading away. "No! Pluto!" Lita shouted, but it was too late, Sailor Pluto was already gone. Lita sighed and walked back into the theatre. She sat down next to Ben, thinking of which guy she really wanted to be with.

The next morning Lita woke up before her alarm clock went off. She pushed the button and took a shower. She got dressed and went down to the parking lot. She got into her car and drove to school. Once at school she saw Ken turning a corner and smiled. Her smile quickly faded into a frown when she saw Amanda hanging all over him. Lita started crying. "No! No!" she shouted. "I'll never get him back!" Lita said through her tears. "I love him! I want to be with him! I'm destined to be with him!" she shouted.

She wiped her tears and got out of the car. She crept behind Amanda and Ken. Hiding behind something every time on of them turned around. Amanda was letting go of his arm. _Yes!_ Lita thought. Amanda leaned in and kissed Ken. Lita's heart crushed. _He…doesn't…love me…anymore!_ She thought, blinking back her tears. Once Amanda was done she walked into a classroom. Ken sighed and kept walking. When Lita was sure that no one else was in the hall she walked up to Ken. She kissed Ken on the lips. "I'm sorry, I forgot my destiny, and now you don't love me anymore," Lita said, then ran off into her classroom.

Ken was so shocked from the kiss that he didn't realize he was still standing there, about 5 minutes late for class. _I'm a stupid, stupid man. Why did I ask Amanda out? I don't really like her, I guess it was to make Lita jealous, and it worked. Why would I ever want to hurt Lita like that? I'm such a moron!_ He thought, hitting himself on the head. _Nothing will ever be right again, I can't go back, I can't go back. Lita's better off without me, maybe we're not destined to be together. I'm just scum, she deserves someone better_ he thought. _Goodbye, Lita, my precious angel…_

_ _

Ken went into his classroom, completely crushed and disappointed with himself. He couldn't pay attention. He opened his notebook and pretended to take notes, but really he was writing stuff about Lita. **Lita, how I love you so, never thought that you would go, I wish I could go back, but that's the power that I lack. Oh Lita, such a beautiful angel, what I'm going through is such hell, but things can never be right, I wish they could be every night, Lita-you're my true love, you must be sent from above, Lita-such a wonderful girl, the best one in this world, I love you, I love you, I need you, I need you, Lita, you are my life, this pain cuts like a knife, I wish I could be with you, but my wish cannot come true, please forgive me, for being the jerk that I be, Lita I hope that you see, that I love you truly, and you'll always be, a big part of me. I love you forever…**

After school Lita headed down to Ben's house. _If I can't be with Ken, then I don't want to be with anyone_ she thought. She knocked on his door. Ben opened and smiled. "Hey Lita, ready to go?" Ben said. "Ben, there's something I've got to tell you," she said back, sadness in her voice. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "I can't…see you anymore. I still love Ken, and I've got to be true to my heart. I'm very sorry. You're a great guy, and you deserve to be with someone that truly loves you, and I can't say that I do, so…bye," she said, and started walking off. Ben grabbed her arm, yanking her back. "No one walks away from Ben Kelley. Lita, you should stay with me, if you know what's best for you," he said, angrily.

"Let go! You're hurting me, Ben!" Lita said, trying to get out of his strong hold. "No, we're going to go to out and you're going to have a good time, understand me?" he said, squeezing her arm harder. "You jerk! I can't believe I ever liked you!" she said. He laughed. "Be a good girl and shut up," he said. "Yeah right!" she said. She punched him with her free hand. He let go of her arm and fell to the ground. She kicked him in the side. "You are a disgrace and I hate you!" she yelled. She kicked him once more then stormed off.

Ben rolled over and held his side, his nose and mouth bleeding uncontrollably. "You're gonna pay for that!" he yelled. He coughed and more blood came out. He started crying. "Mommy! Mommy, help me! I can't get up! She hurt me real bad!" he shouted even more. His mother came out. "Oh my god! Benjamin! I told you that the next time you got into a fight I wouldn't help you, so I'm not going to help! You're a big boy, get up!" she said. She went back in and slammed the door. "Mommy! Come back! Mommmmmmy! I'm sorry!" he shouted, crying hysterically. 

Lita drove off, she decided to go find Serena. Serena could always make her feel better. She stopped at the red light and looked next to her. Two guys in a station wagon listening to extremely loud rap were looking at her and smiling. "Hey baby, you look upset, wanna come wit us? We'll cheer you up," one guy said. They started laughing. Lita gave them a look of disgust. "Come on, suga, we'll show you a good time," he said, then he smiled. Lita counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 missing teeth. "Like I'd ever go anywhere with a pig like you!" she shouted. She looked back at the light, it was green. She pounded down on the gas and drove off, leaving the two pigs to eat her dust-literally.

Lita drove up to Serena's house and parked.She walked up to the door and knocked on it. Sammy answered. "Oh, hey Lita," he said. "Hey Sammy, mind if I come in?" she asked. Sammy noticed her red, puffy eyes. "Sure," he said, sympathetically. He opened the door all the way and let her in. Once she was in Sammy closed the door. Lita sat down on the couch. "Can I get you some tea, Lita?" Sammy said. "No thanks, I just need to talk to Serena," Lita said back. Sammy called Serena down. Serena came down the stairs and saw Lita, she knew something was wrong. "Hey, Sammy, why don't you go upstairs and play with Rini?" Serena asked.

Usually Sammy would say something like 'No way, meatball head!' but he knew that Lita needed to talk to Serena, so he didn't say that. "Sure, feel better Lita," Sammy said. "Thanks," Lita replied. Sammy went up the stairs. As soon as Serena knew that Sammy was gone she turned to Lita. "Lita, what's wrong?" she asked. "I still love Ken….I went to tell him and I saw him kissing Amanda, again! So I went up to him and kissed him and ran off. Then after school I went to Ben's place to tell him that it was over, he started grabbing my arm and hurting me. So I punched him and came here," she said.

Lita started crying, so Serena handed her a tissue. Serena put her arm on Lita's shoulder. "Don't worry, Lita, I'll always be here for you, and I'll help you get through this," Serena said. "Thank you, so much, Serena," Lita said back. Serena smiled. "You're welcome, Lita," she said warmly. "Wanna get some ice cream?" Serena asked, "My treat!" she said with a smile. "Sure," Lita said back. "Sammy, Rini, we're gonna go get some ice cream, we'll be back in a while!" Serena shouted up to Sammy and Rini. They walked out the door and started walking down to the ice cream shop.

Serena heard a scream. She and Lita ran down a little and saw a monster stealing a soul from a middle-aged man. "Jupiter Crystal Power!" Lita shouted. "Moon Eternal Power!" Serena shouted. "Make up!" they shouted in unison. Soon after, they transformed into Super Sailor Jupiter and Eternal Sailor Moon. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" Super Sailor Jupiter shouted. The attack hit the monster. "Starlight Honey Moon Therapy Kiss!" Eternal Sailor Moon shouted. The attack hit the monster, making it disappear.The girls made sure the man was okay then de-transformed.

They continued walking down to the ice cream shop. "That's the kind of monster I saw before," Lita said. "Well, looks like we've got a new enemy ahead of us," Serena said, opening the door to the ice cream shop. Lita walked in and Serena followed. "Two chocolate shakes, please," Serena said to the guy behind the counter. "Ok," the guy said. He made their shakes then put them on the counter. "Four twenty-five," he said. Serena handed him a five dollar bill. "Keep the change," she said. She took the shakes and led Lita to a table.

They sat down and Serena started sipping her shake. Lita put her mouth on the straw and sipped the shake a bit, but not too much. "Lita, I'm sure that Ken still loves you and you two will get married in the future, just like you're destined to!" Serena said, reassuringly. "No, he doesn't love me anymore. He asked Amanda out! He kissed her! Of course he doesn't love me anymore! I don't blame him, though. I have been a total brat to him," Lita said back. "Darien and I get into lots of little fights, but we're always together in the end. Don't worry, life will take it's path, but I know that destiny will kick in soon enough," Serena said with a smile. Lita shrugged and started imagining a world without Ken.

Lita had a vision where she was walking down the hallway in school. "Look, it's that freak that dumped Ken," a girl said to her friend. "Why would anyone do a thing like that? Ken's so awesome! She must be a total ditz!" the other girl said back. She passed another group of people who were all laughing at her. Then, at the end of the hallway she saw Ken. She ran up to him, but was knocked down by a force field. She stood up and looked at Ken. Amanda appeared, holding him and kissing him. Lita felt sick. "Ken…why are you like this?" she asked. "I hate you, Lita, Amanda's the only girl I could love," Ken said. He and Amanda started laughing. Lita turned around and everyone was laughing and pointing at her. Ken grabbed Lita's heart and tore it out of her body. Lita fell to the floor, holding her chest. Ken squeezed her heart, then everything was black. 

"Hello? Lita?!" Serena asked. "Yeah, just having a daydream," Lita said. _More like a day nightmare. Or would that be a day-mare?_ Lita wondered. Serena looked up at the ice cream cone shaped clock. "Lita-Pita, we gotta get to the scout meeting," she said. Lita and Serena stood up and walked out the door. They headed down to the temple, and Lita explained her day-mare. "Ouch, that sounds mega-harsh," Serena said. "But it was only a dream, that would never ever, ever happen in real life!". They got to the temple and saw all the others, except for Ken. Suddenly Ken walked out from behind a tree, but he kept his head down.

"Lita and I fought one of those soul-stealers on the way to the ice cream place," Serena said. "Oh no, a new enemy has come, and we know that it's not just a one time thing now," Mina said. They all started discussing a plan. Lita looked over to Ken, who was looking at Phobos and Deimos, Raye's birds. _I love, Lita, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her...then why can't I be with her? Idiot! You messed everything up and you can't just go back, it's all your fault, you don't deserve a goddess like her_ Ken thought to himself. He leaned back against the tree.

_I love Ken, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him...then why can't I be with him? Moron! You messed it all up, you dumped him and he stopped loving you! It's all your fault, you don't deserve a god like him. You don't deserve anything_ Lita thought to herself. _I wonder what Ken's thinking about, I used to be able to tell by just looking into his eyes. His beautiful eyes…that I'll never get to look into ever again. I wish I could go back. I wish I could change the way things are. I want him, I need him. I long for his warm embrace. I miss the way he looked into my soul every time he kissed me. I miss how he meant so much to me, I miss his smile, and his childish laugh. I miss the evenings we would spend just lying on the grass. I miss the way that we could communicate without saying a word. I miss the way he held me, I miss the feel of his perfect hair. I miss the amazing scent of his breath combining with mine. I miss the way he was so brave and protected me as Jupiter Knight. I miss the late nights when we would dance without music. I miss you, my angel, I miss everything about you. I love you…I will always love you_ she thought. The tears started streaming down her eyes. 

She didn't care if everyone saw her cry. She truly missed Ken and wanted him back. She knew that would never happen, she knew it was all her fault. And she knew that Ken was gone forever. Serena was the first one to notice Lita crying. _Uh-oh, can't let her do this, I've got to help her!_ Serena thought. She ran to Lita and grabbed her hand. She rushed her into the temple and into the bathroom. Serena wiped the tears from Lita's eyes. "Lita, I know that you must be in total agony right now, but you've got to try to get over it," she said. "Get over it?! You're the one who said that he's gonna come back because we're destined to be together!" Lita yelled, hitting Serena's hand away from her face.

"Well guess what, Serena? You were wrong!" Lita yelled, crying hysterically. "He's never gonna come back! No matter how much I love him he'll never ever love me ever again! And it's all my fault! I'm so stupid, I can't live without Ken! How could I ever think that I could survive without him?" Lita yelled. She ran into Raye's room and lied on her bed. Serena followed her. She sat down on the bed, running her hand over Lita's hair. "Shh…Lita, it's okay, everything will be all right," Serena said. Lita just cried even more.

"No, Serena! It's not okay and nothing will be alright!" Lita said. Raye, Mina and Amy walked into the room. Raye sat down on the bed, and Mina and Amy stood by it. "Lita," Raye said. "Lita, don't worry about it, you can't worry this much about it!" Amy said. "Yes I can! I can do whatever I want to do! Ken doesn't love me anymore! Don't you people understand? Ken hates me! He hates my guts! He probably almost pukes every time he sees me! You guys just don't get it, do you? I love him! I need him! I love Ken, I always have loved Ken! I always WILL love Ken! But he hates me, he hates me! He hates me and he'll never come back! It's all my fault, I never should've broken up with him!" Lita shouted.

"Oh Lita, don't say that. It's not your fault at all! Ken loves you, I'm sure of it! He's probably just worried that you don't care for him anymore, but I'm totally sure that he still loves you!" Mina said. "Oh yeah? How would you know?! You don't know anything! Ken doesn't love me. I kissed him today and ran off, and he didn't chase after me! He didn't do anything! Not a single thing….that proves that he just doesn't love me anymore!" Lita said. "That's not true," Serena said. "Ken loves you, you two are destined to be together! You are destined to get married and live happily together! Nothing, nothing, nothing can get in the way of destiny!".

Lita sat up, wiping her tears. "I'm so sorry for yelling at you guys, I just can't handle this! I love Ken so much, he's my world! And aside from you guys, he keeps me alive. I just don't know what I do without him! I need him, I literally need him. But he doesn't need me. He doesn't love me, he loves Amanda," Lita said. "Okay…back up," Raye said, "This Amanda girls sounds like a total moron! Ken does NOT love her! He was probably just trying to make you jealous, since you were going out with Ben. But there is no way that he loves a ditz like her! No offense, Serena,". "None taken…hey! Ben, Ken! I just realized that!"

"I know, that is a little strange, isn't it?" Lita said. The girls all laughed. "You guys can really cheer me up," Lita said. "Thanks guys, for being such totally awesome friends," Lita said. "Oh, Lita, thank _you_! You're the coolest person ever!" Amy said. The girls all shared a group hug. "Destiny will take it's toll, don't worry about it, Lita," Mina said. "I'm still upset, though," Lita said. "Is there anyway we can cheer you up?" Mina asked. "Well…there is something that _you_ can do, Mina," Lita said with a devilish grin. "If you sang Jimmy's Got a Girlfriend I'd feel a lot better. A big sweat drop appeared on Mina's forehead. "Okay…but just for you, Lita,".

"He's all dressed up, buying flowers for the first time! His pick up's polished, ooh, and shining like a new dime! There ain't no doubt he's got a secret, ain't no way he's gonna keep it. Listen how the whole town's talking, they're all saying Jimmy's got a girlfriend! We all know where he's been! Huggin' and a' kissin' oh Jimmy's got a girlfriend!" Mina sang. The girls started cracking up. Mina flopped down on the bed. "Pillow fight!" Serena yelled. "Yeah!" Raye chimed in. Soon everyone was hitting everyone else they could reach with a pillow. "Hey! No fair!" Amy shouted, "Someone's lying on my arm! I can't hit with one arm!" They all started laughing again.

"Ken, do you still love Lita?" Darien asked. "Yes, of course. But I don't deserve her. I'm just scum. I don't even know why I kissed Amanda, or why I asked her out. She deserves much better. And things could never be the same between us, Darien, they just couldn't be the same. I wish I could go back and change everything, but I can't," Kensaid. "Ken," Darien said, "If you two truly love each other then this whole thing will just be forgotten. You've got to go back to her. You've got to tell her how you feel.She still loves you, I know it. You two are destined to be together…and nothing gets in the way of destiny. Just go to her, love conquers all, I would know," Darien said.

"Yeah…you're right! I truly love her, I can't just let her get away! I need her to survive. Whenever I'm around her I feel like I can do anything!" Ken said. "I love Lita Kino, and I want the whole world to know!" Ken shouted. "I love her with all of my heart, I love her more than I love my Jeep! And believe me, I love my Jeep more than life! I love Lita, I love her! I love her! I love her! I love Lita!" Ken shouted. "That's the spirit, Ken! You love her, and destiny will bring you two back together!" Darien said.

"Destiny rules! And so does Lita!" Ken said. He started jumping up and down and dancing happily. _What a fool I've been this whole time! Of course I can be with Lita, I love her! Love takes over all other emotions! Love is the greatest thing in the world! I know I did a lot of incredibly stupid stuff, but if Lita truly loves me, the way that I love her, I know that she'll forgive me! I love Lita, and she's the only girl I want to be with! I want to spend the rest of my life with her! I love everything about her, she's an angel!_ Ken thought to himself.

All the girls came out. "Well, I guess the meeting's over," Amy said. They all started walking home. Lita started walking down the road to her apartment building. _I love Ken, I love Ken, I love Ken. Ken, I'm here if you want me, I'm yours you can hold me_ she thought to herself. _Man, I'm obsessed with that Josie and the Pussycats CD_. She sighed. "I hope he comes back to me…destiny will bring us together, don't worry, Lita. Destiny will bring us back together. Destiny will bring my wonderful angel back to me. I love you, Ken," Lita said. _Should I go to her now? Should I tell her that I love her and that I need her? Should I tell her that she keeps me alive?_ Ken wondered to himself.

Ken ran down to Lita. "Lita!" he shouted. Lita turned around, butterflies in her stomach and goose bumps appearing on her arms and legs. "Ken," she said with a warm smile. Ken caught up to her and kissed her. "Lita, I love you, I need you, I can't live without you. When I'm with you I feel like I can do anything I want to do, and I'm so sorry about everything. I broke it off with Amanda, I didn't really like her. You're the only girl I've ever loved, and you're the only girl I will ever love, Lita," Ken said.

Lita smiled. "I feel the exact same way, Ken. I broke it off with Ben, too. I love you, Ken, you are my Jupiter Knight and I need you to survive. My love for you is eternal, and I will never love another,". Ken smiled. He put his arms around Lita's waist. Lita put her arms around his neck. "It looks like a big battle we've got ahead of us with this new enemy," Ken said. "Yeah," Lita said back, bringing him closer so their foreheads touched. "But at least we get to fight it together…"

The End

© Jessica De Milt 2001


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